Convertible display shelf



May 10, 1966 c. E. HoLT 3,250,234

CONVERTIBLE DISPLAY SHELF Filed Feb. l2, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l o LEE-1' 34a kfzob www \60 $111-j i M66 c I, ....J @x

36 INVENTOR.

CLAQE E. HOLT mgm dttys.

May 10, 1966 A c. E, HoLT CONVERTIBLE DISPLAY SHELF 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 12, 1964 United States Patent O 3,250,234 CONVERTIBLE DISPLAY SHELF Clare E. Holt, Richland, Mich., assigner to Brunswick Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed Feb. 12, 1964, Ser. No. 344,359 13 Claims. (Cl. 10S-5) This invention relates to a shelf structure, and more particularly, to a shelf movable between a horizontal storage position and a tilted display position.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a new and improved shelf structure.

Another object is to provide a new and improved shelf which is slidably and tiltably movable between the front and rear of a cabinet.

Another object is to provide a shelf having an elongate slot therethrough for a transverse shaft mounting the shelf slidably and pivotably.

A further object is to provide a new and improved shelf` which may be moved forwardly out of its rear supports and rotated about its front support to assume a tilted position for displaying magazines or the like.

An extension of the previous object is to provide a movable shelf having a new and improved lower support flange capable of engaging various types of support means for supporting lower portions of the shelf in its tilted position.

A still further object is to provide a new and improved shelf capable of being removed from its rear supports, rotated 180 about its front support, and moved back into its rear supports to expose the other side of the shelf and its rear edge.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become readily apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a View taken in section generally along the line 1 1 of FIG. 2 showing a cabinet embodying the principles of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, sectional view of the cabinet taken generally along the line 2 2 of FIG. 1 showing a shelf supported in its horizontal position;

FIG. 3 is a' fragmentary sectional view taken generally along the line 3 3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional View taken generally along the line 4 4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary front view of the lower end portions of a shelf supported in its tilted position by resting against a lower shelf;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary section showing a shelf in its tilted position being supported by means attached to the cabinet;

FIG. 7 is a front view of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary section showing lower portions of the shelf in its tilted position supported at its lower end by resting on a lower surface; and

FIG. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the lower` right-hand portions of FIG. 2.

While an illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawings and will be described in detail herein, the invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, and it should be understood that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exempliication of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings in more detail, the invention is illustrated in connection with a'cabinet as at 10 in FIG. l. The cabinet includes rectangularly spaced upright Corner posts, as at 12, 14, 16 and 18, which are joined together at the top by horizontal shelf member 3,250,234 Patented May 10, 1966 rice 20, and near the bottom by horizontal shelf member 22. The corner posts and shelves form a rectangular cabinet or shelving having a front 24, a rear 26, and a pair of sides 28 and 30. As explained in the copending application of Richard I. Lappin and Robert G. Mohr, Serial No. 302,548, tiled August 16, 1963, and having the same assignee as the present invention, the structural integrity of the shelving or cabinet is provided solely by the corner posts with top and bottom shelves, and optionally the structure intermediate the top and bottom shelves may be open or enclosed or partly both.

In order to facilitate enclosure, as illustrated in FIG. 1 the cabinet structure includes a bottom shelf panel 22 which is provided with relatively wide channel-shaped guide means as at 22a, and a top shelf member 20 which is provided with parallel relatively narrow guide channels 20a and 2Gb at the front and at the rear, and the cooperating guides as described facilitate the use of front and rear closure panels either of which may be in the form of a single unitary stationary closure and the other of which may be in the form of sliding door panels.

In order to facilitates the use of end panels, each corner post has rigidly attached thereto an elongate vertically extending extrusion 34 providing guide member having on the rear posts a forwardly facing guide slot as at 34a and on the front posts a rearwardly facing guide slot 34a. The guides 34a are adapted to receive end panels if desired as at 35, as seen best in FIGS. 1 and 2.

Each of the extrusions 34 also is provided with a pair of opposed laterally outwardly facing longitudinal grooves 36 each partially closed by anges 38 extending toward each other, as best seen in FIG. 9, The guide grooves 36 are provided to facilitate adjustable 'attachment of various combinations of shelving as described in the .aforementioned pending application and as will appear more clearly hereinafter.

As illustrated in FIG. 8, a shelf member somewhat similar to the top shelf panel 20 (FIG. `l) may be mounted at an intermediate level in the cabinet as illustrated at 118 by suitable means, and the intermediate shelf member may include guide means as at 118a and 1181; corresponding to the guide means 20a and 20h for purposes of enclosing a lower portion of the structure while leaving an upper portion unenclosed.l

According to the present invention, in order to mount an adjustabie shelf 32, corner posts 12 and 16 support a channel-shaped member 40, and corner posts 14 and 18 support a similar oppositely facing channel-shaped member 42. Each of these members 40 and 42 consists of an upper wall 44 (FIG. 3), a lower wall 46, and an upright wall 48 connecting the upper end lower walls.

Portions of the upper and lower walls 44 and 46 of each of these members have been cut away at each longitudinal .end to'permit end portions 50 to engage the mating portions of extrusion 34. The members 40 and 42 at each end are locked to the corner posts by means of a screw S2 passing through open portions of groove 36 and threadedly engaging a block 54 which is carried in groove 36 and is drawn up tight against flanges 38 of extrusion 34. By loosening the screw 52 on each end of channels 4t? and 42 the channels may be moved upwardly or downwardly to any desired height and locked in place.

Each of the members 40 and 42 has welded theretoV at its rear portions a shelf supporting bracket 54 (FIGS. 2 and 3) consisting of a generally upright wall 56 and a pair of horizontal, inwardly turned upper and iower ilanges 58 and 60, respectively. Flanges 58 and 6l) on each bracket 54 are spaced apart vertically to define a space 62 therebetween for receiving and supporting the rear portions of the shelf 32 when in a first horizontal position, as seen in FIGS. 2 and 3. These flanges are also spaced apart in a front to rear direction (FIG. 2) to l facilitate positioning the shelf in a second horizontal position, as will be seen later.

Members 40 and 42 are connected together at their forward portions by a bar or rod assembly 64, as seen in FIG. 2. Assembly 64 consists of a horizontal bar 66 of circular cross section and a pair of rectangular end plates 68 and 70. End plate 68 is attached as by welding to one end of the bar, and end plate 70 is attached to the other end by means of a machine screw 72, as seen in FIG. 4. Bar assembly 64 is mounted to members 40 and 42 by means of bolts 74 and nuts 76. This rod forms the front support for the shelf 32 when the shelf is in its horizontal positions.

The shelf 32 consists of a pair of identical rectangular boards or panels '78 and 80 separated in parallel alignment, as seen in FIG. 2, by a spacer 82 mounted between and connecting boards 78 and 80 at their rear portions. Spacer 82 extends over the entire width of the shelf 32 and has an exposed rear edge 84 and a forward edge 86. Panels 78 and 80 are separated at their forward portions 87 by spacer 88 also extending over the entire width of the shelf and having a rear edge 90. Boards 78 and 80 and spacers 82 and 88 define an elongated slot or recess 92 having a substantial length in affront to rear direction and opening ontwardly toward each side of the cabinet to provide an enclosure for the rod 66 which supports the front of the shelf in its horizontal position, as shown in FIG. 2.

Shelf 32 carries over its entire forward edge an elongate ient manually accessible pull to facilitate manipulation of s the shelf and for other purposes as will appear. Flange 98 preferably has opposite grooves at upper and lower edges therein as at 98a for receiving identification cards and the like.

The shelf 32, FIG. 2, can be moved forwardly and rearwardly over the bar 66 a distance equal to the distance between front and rear spacers 82 and 88. A somewhat shorter movement forward will free the 'rear portions of the shelf 32 from the upper flange 58 of bracket 56 whereupon the shelf may be pivoted around rod 64. If desired, the shelf may be pivoted 180 and reinserted between flanges 58 and, 60 to expose the other side of the shelf, thereby moving the extrusion 94 to thev rear, as shown at 32a in FIG. 1. The part of the shelf,at the front then is devoid of a retaining lip similar to that at 100, if such an arrangement is desired. Insertion of the front portions 87 of shelf 32 into and through support bracket 54 is facilitated by the front to rear spacing of flanges 58 and 60 which permits extruded flange 100 to pass downwardly therebetween.

The shelf 11 is also usable in a tilted position for displaying magazines or the like. -This position is obtained by pulling the shelf forwardly out of its rear supports 54 and rotating the shelf about bar 66 into a position where the front portions 87 of the shelf are supported below and forwardly of the bar 66, whereupon flange 100 functions as a retaining support for magazines or the like displayed in inclined positions.

The lower forward portions of the shelf in its tilted position may be supported in a variety of ways of which three embodiments are shown. FIGS. 1 and 5` show the lower surface of the tilted shelf resting against a forward edge 104 of a horizontal shelf 106 disposed below bar 66 and mounted on vertically movable clips 108. The construction of shelf 106 and clips 108 may be as described in the copending application of Charles Wayne Schneider, Serial No. 157,128, filed December 5, 1961, now Patent No. 3,125,970, and having the same assignee as the present invention. Lower portions of shelf 32 are equipped with pads 110, of a material such as felt, to prevent the scratching or marring of the contacting shelves.

FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a second method of supporting the lower forward portions of shelf 32 in its tilted position. A pair of hollow support pins or sleeves 112 are positioned at an appropriate height on extrusions 34 of corner posts 16 and 1S, and locked in place by tightening Phillips screw 114 in sleeve 112 which draws up screw head or nut 116 against the inside of flange portions 38 of extrusion groove 36. Shelf 32 is then positioned on these support pins 112 such that flanges 96 and 98 of bracket 94 engage pin 112 on its forward and rearward sides. FIG. 8 illustrates a third method of supporting the lower edge of the shelf 32 when in its tilted position. In that figure, flange 98 of bracket 94 rests directly on top of horizontal surface 118. Pads are provided between the flange 98 andthe surface to prevent marring of the surface.

It will be appreciated that the shelf structure disclosed, while illustrated in connection with a cabinet, may be utilized with other types of furniture and supporting structures.

.I claim:

1. A shelf structure, comprising, an upright frame, a transverse rod on the frame adjacent the front thereof, a rectangular shelf having a transverse rectangular slot therethrough receiving said rod for supporting the shelf slidably and pivotably thereon for movement from a horizontal rearwardly disposed position to a forwardly disposed forwardly and downwardly inclined position, means on the frame adjacent the rear thereof for supporting the rear portion of the shelf when the latter is horizontally an rearwardly disposed, and means on the frame beneath the shelf for supporting the front of the shelf when the latter is forwardly disposed and inclined.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein the last recited means comprises a shelf lsupported on the frame beneath the movable shelf, and including a cushion on the bottom surface of the movable shelf adjacent the front thereof for engaging the front edge of the lower shelf.

3. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein the last recited means comprises a shelf supported on the frame beneath the movable shelf, and including a flange extending forwardly and downwardly from the front edge of the movable shelf for engaging the lower shelf.

4. A combination as defined in claim 3, including a cushion at the edge of said flange for engaging the lower shelf.

5. A combination as defined in claim 1, wherein the last recited means comprises an inwardly extending pin on the frame beneath the shelf adjacent one side thereof, and including a forwardly and downwardly inclined flange at the front edge of the shelf, cooperating with the front edge of the shelf to define a notch positionable on the p 6. A combination as defined in claim 1, including an upwardly extending retainer flange on the shelf at the front thereof.

7. A shelf structure, comprising, anuprightjsupporting structure, a pair of laterally spaced parallel members connected to the structure, a horizontal rod extending between the members, a generally rectangular shelf having a transverse slot receiving said rod forsupporting the shelf slidably and pivotably thereon for movement between a generally horizantal position and a tilted position, second support means carried by said supporting structure rearwardly of the rod for supporting the shelf when in a horizontal position, and means carried by the supporting structure below the rod and forwardly thereof for supporting the front of the shelf when moved to a second tilted position.

8. A movable shelf and supporting structure, comprising, a shelf supporting frame having a pair of laterally spaced uprights; a horizontal shaft connecting the uprights, an elongate shelf slidably and pivotally mounted on said horizontal shaft for movement between a rst position in a generally horizontal plane and a second plane tilted relative to the horizontal plane, an elongate bracket carried by the shelf and parallel to the shaft having a rst ange extending above the upper surface of the shelf for supporting articles laid an the shelf when in its tilted position and a second ange for engaging the upper surface of a horizontal member disposed there- -below to support lower portions of the shelf when in its tilted position, and means carried by the frame for releasably holding the shelf when moved to its horizontal position.

9. A shelf structure, comprising, a shelf support having four rigidly connected vertical corner posts forming a rectangular frame having a front, a rear, and two ends, a pair of parallel members disposed in a horizontal plane at opposite sides of the frame, each member opposite ends connected respectively to the front and rear corner posts, a horizontal rod parallel to the front connecting said members, an elongate rectangular shelf supported by said rod having a transverse slot through which the rod passes to allow rotation and translation of the shelf on the rod between a horizontal position and a generally tilted display position, first shelf support means carried behind the rod and connected to one of said members for supporting rear portions of the shelf when disposed in its horizontal position, and second shelf support means carried by said supporting frame below and forwardly of said rod for supporting lower portions of the shelf when disposed in its tilted position.

1t). A shelf structure, comprising, an upright support having laterally spaced apart portions defining a space therebetween, a stationary horizontal rod carried by the supporting means and disposed between said laterally spaced-apart portions, an elongate shelf having a transverse slot therethrough for receiving the rod and permitting both sliding and tilting movement of the shelf between a generally horizontal position and a tilted position, first means carried by the support laterally and behind A said bar for supporting the shelf in a horizontal plane, and

second means carried by the support below and forward of said bar for supporting the shelf when moved to its tilted position, an upwardly extending flange at the front of the shelf for supporting articles resting against the shelf, and a ange projecting downwardly and forwardly from the front edge of the shelf for engaging said second means.

11. A movable display shelf, comprising, an upright supporting structure having a left and right side and a space therebetween, first means projecting inwardly from each side for supporting a shelf in a substantially horizontal position, a substantially rectangular shelf slidably and pivotally movable between a substantially horizontal plane on said first means and a plane tilted to the horizontal, a generally horizontal bracket on the front edge of the shelf having a first upwardly extending iiange for supporting articles laid on the shelf when in its tilted position and a second flange extending gene-rally downwardly when the shelf is in its tilted position, and second supporting means carried by the supporting structure and extending inwardly from each side to engage said second llange and support lower portions of the shelf when in its tilted position.

2. A shelf structure, comprising, an upright frame, a transverse rod on the frame adjacent the front thereof, a rectangular shelf having slot means therethrough receiving said rod for supporting the shelf slidably and pivotably thereon, first inwardly extending flanges on the frame adjacent the rear thereof for supporting the rear portion of the shelf when the latter is horizontally and rearwardly disposed, second inwardly extending flanges on the frame rearwardly of and above the iirst flanges for retaining the shelf against pivotal movement about the rod when the shelf is horizontally and rearwardly disposed, means on the fraaie beneath the shelf for supporting the front of the shelf when the latter is forwardly disposed and downwardly inclined, and an upwardly extending retainer flange on the shelf at the front thereof, the shelf being reversible upon forward movement on the rod followed by pivotal movement of the front edge of the shelf upwardly about the rod to turn the shelf over whereupon the retainer flange may be dropped between the first and second flanges to facilitate rearward sliding to an inverted horizontal rearmost position. I

i3. A shelf structure, comprising, an upright frame, a transverse rod on the frame adjacent the frontthereof, a rectangular shelf having a transverse slot therethrough receiving said rod for supporting the shelf slidably and pivotably thereon for movement from a horizontal rearwardly disposed position to a forwardly disposed forwardly and downwardly inclined position, means on the frame adjacent the rear thereof for supporting the rear portion of the shelf when the latter is horizontally and rearwardly disposed, and means on the frame beneath the shelf for supporting the front of the shelf when the latter is forwardly disposed and inclineth References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,196,044 4/1940 rTyrrell 10S-62 X CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner.

F. DOMOTOR, Assistant Examiner. 

13. A SHELF STRUCTURE, COMPRISING, AN UPRIGHT FRAME, A TRANSVERSE ROD ON THE FRAME ADJACENT THE FRONT THEREOF, A RECTANGULAR SHELF HAVING A TRANSVERSE SLOT THERETHROUGH RECEIVING SAID ROD FOR SUPPORTING THE SHELF SLIDABLY AND PIVOTABLY THEREON FOR MOVEMENT FROM A HORIZONTAL REARWARDLY DISPOSED POSITION TO A FORWARDLY DISPOSED FORWARDLY AND DDOWNWARDLY INCLINED POSITION, MEANS ON THE FRAME ADJACENT THE REAR THEREOF FOR SUPPORTING THE REAR 